CHAPTER 2: THE WARNING

  ROSE'S POV I turned around, only to see Eric's mother, Helena, standing in front of me. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and the look she was giving me was not a good one. But it was actually a normal thing. "I repeat, why are you crying like an idiot?" She queried, her tone bitter to the highest point. Getting up from the couch, I wiped away my tears. "Why are you asking? It's not like you care anyway." "I'm not trying to be caring around here. I just want to know why you're creating so much noise." She continued her glare. "Why don't you go and ask your son?" I rejoined. "He's the one who caused all this." "Shut that dirty mouth of yours!" She snarled. "I don't even know what you're still doing in this family. I don't even know why my son decided to marry a lowlife fool like you." "Hold on there, will you?" I blurted out incontinently, hoisting my hand to a certain degree. I stepped a little bit closer to her. "You are forgetting that I had to give up my wealth just to be with this son of yours." "Please end this nonsense." She gestured toward me to stop. "You talk like you, giving up your wealth, added to the success of Eric. You were just there, following him all around, and I'm glad he didn't even choose you." "If he didn't choose me, then how am I his wife?" I countered. "You are his wife, and yet you are crying, blaming him for causing you pain. So tell me, did he really choose you?" Helena retorted. "What have I ever done to you?" I asked softly. "Why do you hate me so much?" "It's quite clear." She snapped her fingers. "You're not rich. Your family might be, but you're not. And I don't like mingling with low-class fools. They're not worth my time." I shot her a look of disgust. She talked about these people like she hadn't been one of them in the past. "I've told you so many times to just end this marriage and go find someone else. Someone who's as low as you. The two of you will make a perfect couple. But as for my son, it's so impossible."   "Impossible?" I buffed a confused face. "Are you forgetting that your son and I were madly in love years ago? Or has this ferocious wealth caused you to lose your brains?" "How dare you disrespect me like that?" "Respect is given to people with senses. But as a matter of fact, you don't deserve one." She immediately gasped in awe. "Are you saying that I don't have senses?" "I never said that." I looked away. The next thing that happened? This woman sturdily captured my arm. We both fixed our eyes on each other, a glare right on our faces. "Oh, you make me sick." Her whisper was acrimonious. "I've had enough of you. Do you hear me? You need to leave our lives as soon as possible." "You're right," I whispered back. "That is why I have decided to divorce your son." I put an end to her grip. "Today, it's going to finally be over. Today, all the pains will finally come to an end." "And I'll be glad to see you walk out of this house." I chuckled at her words. After that, I walked away from her. I took a hold of my phone, which was on the couch. Helena did nothing but watch me as I pulled off all of these. Scowling at Helena, I began to call Eric. He answered immediately, which was quite faster than I expected. I thought he was supposed to be giving his five-star girlfriend all of his time. "What is it now?" Eric aksed. And with his tone, it was clear that he was scunnered. "I thought I told you already. We'll discuss that divorce stuff, or whatever, the moment I come home." "There's no need for that," I said. My vein was kind of cold. "What do you mean by that?" He aksed right away. "Let's just discuss this on the phone, shall we?" My eyes went to Helena, who was simply observing me. I took my gaze upward. "Don't worry, I won't be wasting much of your time. Since you're going to spend the whole day with your lovely actress." This was just me trying to be strong on the outside. On the inside, I was frail, weak, and soft as a pillow. And at this moment, I was trying to make these two sides the complete opposite. "Get straight to the point now, Rose. What is it you want to talk about?"   "The divorce, of course," I replied, and I turned around, no longer facing Helena. "I want you to have the paperwork done first thing tomorrow morning." "Say what now?" Eric couldn't believe his ears. It was a pity. "Don't act like you didn't hear me, Eric. I said, Make sure the paperwork is ready tomorrow morning. If you don't show up or can't finalize the divorce, I will expose the truth about Tasha being your mistress all these years. I'm sure you wouldn't want your precious superstar girlfriend facing a public scandal, especially when you've protected her reputation for so long." "I see you've gone crazy, Rose." I sighed, closing my eyes. "Yes. Yes, I have. And you made me crazy, Eric." "Look, Rose. You better stop this." I ended the phone call instantly, not hearing what he had to say. Holding my phone tight, I shut my eyes. This was painful, but I needed to be strong to prevail over it. "What is this nonsense you are talking about right now?" Helena asked. I turned around with a glare. "It's divorce, miss. I'm going to divorce your son, just like you want." I embarked on making my way to my room upstairs, but she once again seized my arm. "I told you to divorce him. I didn't say you should do something so distasteful," Helena brought out, our eyes not looking at each other. "What's so distasteful about telling people the truth?" I turned to her, pulling my arm off her hand. She directed her finger at me. "Look here; I'm warning you. If you...." "If I try to do what, huh?" I cut her off, raising an eyebrow. "Expose your son to the people." I chuckled. "You people are really unbelievable." "How much do you want to keep that mouth of yours shut?" I laughed promptly. "For the love of God, I do not want your money. I don't have to keep reminding you of that. Keep your riches to yourself." "There's no need for this pretense. It's just me and you right here." Helena continued with her nonsense talk. "Tell me how much you want—for you to keep your mouth shut and to get out of our lives for good."   "If I were a fool after money, do you think I would have given up the wealthy life just to be with your son? Or do you think I would have rejected those proposals from the well-endowed men?" I vocalized. Venturous mode, intrepid attitude  I continued, "You need to understand, Mrs. Mandela, that none of these riches move me." "That's enough!" Helena and I turned around the moment we heard a furious shout.